I plan to leave my mark on the baseball world; this is where it all begins.

Almost, Almost, Almost

‘Almost’ seems to sum up the first nine games that the Red Sox played. Except for the two blowout games that Jon Lester just happened to pitch in, the Red Sox came within striking distance in almost every game (and by that I mean we were down by two runs or less). Those games are the frustrating ones.

That was a pretty tough road trip, and I don’t think the late night West Coast games were much fun for anyone (except for Oakland). If I’m tired watching West Coast games, I can’t imagine how the players must be… they actually have to do stuff.

‘Almost Game’ #1

I was ready for the second West Coast game of the series. I had finished my homework, and I was in the process of drinking my two cups of coffee. For those of you who made comments about drinking coffee on my last post, I’m somewhat addicted myself. I know, it’s bad, it stunts my growth. Maybe that explains Pedroia’s lack of height.

The top of the first made me happy. I thought that maybe our offense had finally woken up. The Red Sox finally stringed together a bunch of hits in the first inning to score three runs, and normally, run support works pretty well for Dice-K.

Not that night. It was one thing when the game was tied. ‘Okay, back to 0-0′ I thought, deflated. Then Dice-K gave up two MORE runs. Five runs. In one inning. I no longer felt deflated, I felt dejected. 45 pitches in one inning– that’s basically how many Wakefield had after five innings the day after.

I was scared too, because I wasn’t fully trusting our offense yet. In the games before that night’s, we would score a run in the first, and then leave absolutely everyone on. At least we tied the game back up in the top of the fifth thanks to more hits strung together.

That wasn’t my favorite part of the story. My favorite part was the bullpen, especially Justin Masterson. Thank God he continued to train like a starter throughout the offseason, and during Spring Training. Whosever idea that was, you are brilliant. This man oozes versatility, and I dream about it. Of course, when he came in, I proceeded to ask um… myself: WHERE THE HELL DID DICE-K GO??? And after him, another six shutout inning by that bullpen that everyone has been talking about: the best one in baseball.

It stayed tied for… a while. The three hour mark passed. ‘Oh crap’ I thought, ‘This is going to be a long night,’.

I won’t lie to you though, I did fall asleep from the bottom of the ninth to the top of the tenth. I missed Okajima’s 1-2-3 ninth. But I did wake up for Dustin Pedroia’s incredible catch in the bottom of the tenth. It woke me up. 2 AM passed, and that meant less than four hours of sleep, and I like sleeping.

Again, I won’t lie to you. Javier Lopez makes me nervous when he’s in without anyone on base. He loaded up the bases. I don’t think I could feel my anxiety though, my exhaustion was overwhelming. There are two outs though, so I’m feeling kind of good.

Then, a sharp grounder that bounces into the air… but my Dustin is charginggggg andddd safe. The A’s won. I stayed up until 2:30 AM to watch the Red Sox lose.

I could barely get up the next morning, and I probably couldn’t walk in a straight line either. My friend, Kathleen (the other Red Sox fan) and I just shook our heads when we saw each other. We went over to other benches (in the area that my friends and I hang out) to go sleep.

My other friends came over, and started talking. I told them to ‘go away’ because I needed sleep, and I proceeded to sleep every opportunity that I got.

Almost Game #2

Wednesday’s game was perfect timing– it was on a day that I had early dismissal, so I got home in time to see the first pitch. It’s not like I don’t get nervous when Wakefield pitches– like I’ve said, he’s either really on, or really off. Yesterday, he was REALLY on, and so was our offense.

I noticed “it” after four innings. We had a comfortable two run lead thanks to Mike Lowell’s two run homer, and Wakefield was cruising. I looked at the score: zero hits for the A’s.

My thoughts would not shut up. I wanted them to so badly, but they just wouldn’t. Mike Lowell made an error in the fifth that would have ruined the perfect game, which Wakefield would have had going into the 8th inning had it not been for that error.

The Sox even got more insurance runs in the 8th because we went through our entire lineup. I like doing that, and I hope we do it again soon. I was a very happy camper, even though I was ridiculously tired. At the beginning of the 8th inning, Don Orsillo finally talks about it.

‘Wakefield has allowed no hits to A’s hitters through seven.’

‘Why would you say that?’ I asked him through my computer. I know he’s an announcer, and maybe he has to… but aren’t we all ridiculously superstitious? Maybe I would be a crappy announcer, then. I would not even mention hits if I noticed it, and I would threaten my partner if they even thought about it.

I had MLB Network on mute too, and I see a ‘Special Report’, so naturally, I turned it up. Just guess what they talked about:

‘History may be in the process of being made over in Oakland…’

TURN IT OFF! My father and I both scream at the same time. I fumble with the remote and change the channel, only to have it go to the same thing but not in HD. I finally just turn the TV off.

Kurt Suzuki got the hit, and he is the one that reached on the error too. You know how Jane mentions kidnapping players over in her blog? I want to kidnap Kurt Suzuki, and I wouldn’t mind kidnapping
Travis Buck either (the guy with the walk off hit).

There were some remarkable defensive plays during that game though. Jacoby Ellsbury had two beautiful catches in the outfield where he bounced gracefully off the wall each time. Nick Green also had an incredible catch to rob Jack Cust (?) of a hit.

I saw MIke Lowell in the dugout in the top of the ninth semi-joking with Wakefield about that error, and I could see that he was basically saying,

“I was thinking about that error, and how it could have ruined a perfect game. I was also thinking about how Elizabeth Dreeson would have come and killed me,”

I took a three hour nap after that– caught up on my sleep, and I needed it!

No more 10 p.m. start times for the Sox for a month….what a bummer.
I definitely believe in the superstition factor regarding broadcasters and the no-hitter. Don Orsillo is to blame 110% in this case. The guideline is to say something like “what an extraordinary game by Wakefield,” then show the line score and the viewer can figure out what is going on for themselves.
-Markhttp://philliesperspective.mlblogs.com

At least the Red Sox kept it close, I can’t say the same thing about the Twins. And the Red Sox will come back and probably win the East (or at least the Wild Card), they simply have too much talent to finish in the basement. I can’t say the same thing about the Twins there, either.-Erinhttp://plunking-gomez.mlblogs.com

Wakefield amazes me. old guy, knuckleballer, gotta be tough on the arm but he still goes out and is effective. now for the food in pittsburgh, we got it all. may not be as flashy as miami, but we can hold our own in the kitchen!

Hope you can get some sleep now, Elizabeth! Since I live in CA, the west coast games are great for me because they’re on at a normal time. Great game by Wakefield. He didn’t get the no-no, but he must have given the team a lift. The fans too.

Elizabeth,
Wake threw a good game, but Kottaras called a gem! lol
The A’s got a bit lucky there, but you have to admit that if Suzuki didn’t hit that pitch, he shouldn’t be in the MLB. I cannot believe that George missed a HR by a couple of feet, he absolutely CRUSHED that pitch! Listen, YOU CAN’T BLAME ORSILLO!!! Don is the man, and cannot be blamed for doing his job. As the play-by-play announcer he has to keep everyone informed, so blame those people who tuned in late.

Diasuke MatsuVLAKA (vlaka=fool in Greek) WTF!!! You don’t need to throw 200+ pitch side sessions, save it for the game. And a solution for the WBC…….play it in the winter in dome stadiums/warm climates. December sounds good.

Wow, great stories! I’m so glad you were able to catch up on some sleep! I don’t really like it when the announcers say something about a no-no, but they con’t control the game. If it’s not going to be a no-hitter, it’s not going to be a no-hitter. Nothing we can do about it :)http://kaybee.mlblogs.com

Hi Elizabeth, I wasn’t paying close attention but I thought I saw something that Tim Wakefield has had a no-hitter into the 7th inning at least four times, and is one of the active leaders in that category. It was a good game/victory nonetheless. For me, home is Northern CA even though I am presently on the East Coast. The toughest part about actually being on the West Coast following East Coast teams is that the night games start at 4 or 4:30 so it’s usually in the 7th inning of games (or later) by the time you get home. Have a great weekend!

I can imagine how frustrating it must be.. I was ready to rip my hair out last year when the Yanks were a pile of crap [not to say the Red Sox are right now *cough cough* lol..].
Just so you know, I was jinxing that no-hitter all the way, lol.. [Don’t hate me =(]
Though it’d do nothing but brighten my day to see the Red Sox remain in their current position, I do hope your team starts to pick up.. the AL East fight isn’t the same w/o the BoSox in the mix.. plus, I’m still not used to battling for it with the Rays, blehh.. lol..
– V [ http://flairforthedramatic.mlblogs.com ]

Elizabeth – hope you’ve caught up on your sleep (I also love/need my sleep)! I don’t buy into that whole announcer-jinx thing – the players of course don’t know what was just said over the air! On TV of course they could just show the scoreboard (as Mark says) but on radio there’s not really much alternative to mentioning it, so the listener knows what’s happening.
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